November 6, 2024 - During the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s, Dowty Mining Equipment was a major supplier of longwall roof supports and belt conveyors. Previously, in Great Britain and around the world, Dowty had made its name by supplying hydraulic undercarriages to the aircraft industry. 

Dowty was led for many rears by Sir George Dowty. In mining circles, Sir George was known and respected around the world as the person, who in 1947, took the technology from aircraft undercarriages with the first hydraulic props used to support the roof of coal mines. Recently a committee was set up to commemorate his remarkable life.

Sir George had an affinity with Rover cars and an annual calendar has been produced for the last few years. The calendar begins with a photo of his 1962 Rover which was advertised as “One of the world’s best engineered cars”. Sir George is shown depicted by his statue standing next to a Lancaster Bomber wheel and undercarriage he designed in 1942. He could reasonably lay claim to be “One of the world’s best engineers”.

The calendar shows such vehicles a 1971 Solihull registered Rover known affectionately as the Old Lady on duty ferrying teenagers to a Proms night event locally, an occasion for them to remember. Another one is Sir George viewing approvingly a military version of the Humber Super Snipe, which was allocated to Field Marshall Montgomery at Dunkirk and then as his Victory car in the North African campaign.

Sir George was also a big American car man from the Second World War. In the mid-1950s, Sir Roy Fedden told him: ”you  cannot drive up as President of the Society of British Aircraft Constructors without a Rolls Royce. It isn’t the thing for a British industrialist to arrive in a Cadillac and so soon after your knighthood!”

Demand for this calendar is huge particularly in the USA. A very limited number of copies of the calendar (see here) are available for $20. Please contact the Sir George Dowty Memorial Committee Chairman, Martin Robins, martinrobins@btinternet.com.